Sergio Perez enjoyed the first win of the 2022 season at the chaotic Monaco Grand Prix. Now, the Mexican is closer to his teammate Max Verstappen in the championship battle.

The Mexican driver started the race from P3 behind the Ferrari duo. However, the Prancing Horses failed to keep the lead in the race because of a strategy mishap. Winning the race, Checo became the first Mexican driver to win the Monaco race.

Why Sergio Perez can fight for the 2022 championship?

Before the epic victory in Monaco, the 32-year-old Mexican had the opportunity to win the Spanish GP. However, Red Bull didn’t allow Checo to keep the lead and asked him to swap places with Verstappen, who was on a different strategy and had more pace.

This again led many F1 fans to assume that Perez is just the number 2 driver for the Milton Keynes-based team. However, after the Monaco GP, the dynamics in the team might change, considering Perez outperformed Verstappen throughout the race weekend and, eventually, won the race as well.

But team principal Christian Horner now made it clear that both the drivers could fight for the Championship. Checo even showcased a phenomenal performance at Jeddah, securing a pole, which also played a huge part in convincing the Red Bull boss to let him fight for the title.

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Horner said, “He’s doing a great job and it’s no exception. I mean, we all saw his pole position in Jeddah. He’s really in shape and that’s fantastic for us. The difference between him and Max is a lot smaller this year.

The Championship won’t affect the Perez-Verstappen relationship

After the Monaco GP, Perez narrowed the gap to the championship leader and teammate Verstappen. Checo ranks P3 on the drivers’ standings and is only six points behind the other championship candidate, Charles Leclerc.

Undoubtedly, Checo has become a threat to Verstappen’s title defense, especially now when Red Bull allowed both drivers to fight for the title. Many feel this could lead to a heated inter-team battle at Red Bull.

However, when asked if things can get heated between him and Checo, Max replied, “I don’t think so. Why would that change?” Right after, Checo jokingly asked, “We are still gonna be in love, right?” To which Verstappen said, “Yes, Absolutely.”

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Although Checo and Max continue their bromance, fans might witness the two fighting for race wins in future races. Let’s see how the Red Bull duo fares at the upcoming Azerbaijan GP.